Game On Magazine September 2015 - Page 25

After easily winning the MJHL championship with 12 straight playoff wins, the
Terriers finished second at the Western
Canada Cup. Now, a team that has had
pretty much the best season in Manitoba
hockey history can celebrate a national
title.
When the Terriers wrapped up a
near-perfect run to the MJHL’s Turnbull
Trophy, there was not a team with a better
record in organized hockey anywhere in the
world. Portage finished the regular season
in first place overall, 25 points ahead of
second-place Steinbach, with a record of
53-3-4. Then, in the playoffs, the Terriers
won 12 straight games to claim the title.
On May 3, the Terriers beat the Melfort
Mustangs 4-2 to finish second at the 2015
Western Canada Cup in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Portage lost the Championship Game 4-3
in overtime to the B.C, Champion Penticton
Vees.
“We finished second in the Western
Canadians, but we really learned a lot about
ourselves and our opposition,” Spiller said.
“We gained a lot of confidence in that
event. And that tournament also gave us
a lot of experience playing against elite
teams from other provinces. We learned
what we were up against. You can watch all
the video you want, but it’s not the same as
playing against a team.”
The next weekend, the Terriers wrapped
up the RBC Cup tournament by shutting
down the only team to beat them during
the week. In the second game of the round
robin Carleton Place, the pre-tournament
favorites, beat Portage 3-0 and remained
the favorites heading into the championship game.
But a relentless forecheck combined with
great goaltending from Zac Robidoux – who
made 26 saves – gave the Terriers a decisive, if not an upset, victory.
Zack Waldvogel, Garick Gray, Dane
Schioler and Tyler Jeanson all pitched in
assists as Portage scored the game’s opening goal and never looked back. Portage
led 1-0 after the first period on a breakaway
goal by Valiquette, and were ahead 2-1
heading into the final period. In the third,
the Terriers scored two power play goals –
Boyd at 2:02 and Brad Bowles at 8:15 – and
the game was pretty much in the bag.
It was the second straight season in
which the Canadians reached the national
championship game and lost. Last season it
was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Yorkton
Terriers in Vernon, B.C.
This season, the RBC Cup will be played
in Lloydminster, Alta. while the Western
Canada Cup will take place in Estevan, Sask.
Spiller said his team “went about its
business this season.” No doubt about that.
In fact, in the end, Portage finished 74-6-4
in 2014-15. It was an incredible... no, a
remarkable season and Manitoba’s Portage
Terriers left no doubt that they were worthy
national champions.
Now comes the really hard part –
repeating.
“We lose a lot of players,” said Spiller
bluntly. “We lose all nine 20-year-olds and
we won’t be able to replace players like
(Zack) Waldvogel, (Landon) Peel and
(Tanner) Jago. We’ll also likely lose some
other players to the Western Hockey
League (Zac Robidoux, Brandon; Dean
Stewart, Saskatoon and Mackenzie Dwyer,
Seattle) and the USHL (Tyler Jeanson), but
we’ve recruited some new guys and we’ll
see what happens. I can tell you, repeating
is not going to be easy.” n
WE FINISHED
SECOND IN THE WESTERN
CANADIANS, BUT WE
REALLY LEARNED A LOT
ABOUT OURSELVES AND OUR
OPPOSITION
SEPTEMBER 2015
GAME ON 25